Commission Hopefuls Focus On Growth

CAMPAIGN 2004

Making growth pay for itself quickly emerged as the popular refrain in races for four Polk County Commission seats. Problem is, candidates from both parties were saying it.

Democratic Party challengers accuse the all-Republican County Commission of allowing the construction industry to run wild, flooding schools and stretching county services without paying its fair share.

Republicans counter that they want growth to pay for itself, too -- though they tend to speak of it in terms of closing the resulting "infrastructure gap" -- and are already starting to make that happen. But those who are incumbents say they need more time.

What is Polk's most-pressing problem?

At a recent forum, all of the candidates' answers were tied to growth.

To varying degrees, all of the candidates say impact fees on new construction have to be part of the solution.

They range from District 4 Democratic challenger Jean Reed of Winter Haven, who favors raising impact fees to the highest legally defensible levels, to District 3 incumbent Jack Myers, who as a real-estate broker warns that people are being priced out of the home market.

"I feel like we have an excellent set of candidates," said Paul Anderson, campaign chairman for the Polk Democratic Party. "They will not sell out to the Realtors and building industry."

Republican Paul Senft, who is running for the District 4 seat he now holds, said the Democrats are not getting traction from the growth issue because the Republicans agree that growth needs to pay for itself and are starting to make it happen.

Polk established its first impact fee to pay for new-school construction last year, setting it at $1,607 for single-family homes -- the county's consultant advised the maximum could have been $3,801.

In June, commissioners voted to raise transportation-impact fees on new homes to $2,705 -- a 180 percent increase that most conceded was long overdue and necessary to help close a portion of the infrastructure gap.

Commissioners ordered a new impact-fee study and promised to revisit the issue in January. Builders and businesses argued that the county's study was flawed and outdated.

But what the incumbents call compromises and temporary measures until more reliable data is available, the Democrats decry as caving in to the county's construction lobby.

If the impact of growth on Polk County is the top issue for voters, they are left to decide Nov. 2 which candidates will more effectively deal with it.

These are the Polk County Commission candidates:

District 1 -- Republican Bob English, 66, faces Democrat Mark Hopkins, 46. Both men are from Lakeland and have backgrounds in the private sector. English defeated incumbent Don Gifford in the Republican primary.

District 3 -- Incumbent Republican Jack Myers, 47, faces Democrat John Johnson, 65. Both men are from Auburndale. Myers voted to raise the transportation-impact fee this year but voted against Polk's first school-impact fee because he supported a $1,200 fee rather than the approved $1,607.

District 4 -- Republican Paul Senft, 65, faces Democrat Jean Reed, 56, a community activist from Winter Haven. Senft was appointed by the governor to fill the seat earlier this year after the death of Charles Richardson. Senft, a Haines City insurance agent, voted to raise the transportation-impact fee this year.

District 5 -- Republican Sam Johnson, 43, faces Democrat John Thomas Fennell, 61. The Lakeland men advanced in crowded primaries for the seat being vacated by four-term Commissioner Neil Combee. Johnson is an assistant principal at Ridgeview Global Studies Academy. Fennell is retired from the U.S. Army.